Late ex-NFL player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez’s alleged teenage boyfriend is speaking out for the very first time in a lengthy new profile published by The Boston Globe.
Hernandez was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013. In 2017, he killed himself in his prison cell. Shortly after his death, rumors that Hernandez had a gay jailhouse lover began swirling.
Speaking to The Boston Globe, Dennis SanSoucie says his friendship with Hernandez began in middle school when they both played on the same youth football team and continued all through high school.
Related: Ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez reportedly left a suicide note for his gay prison lover
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The relationship allegedly revolved around three things: playing football, smoking weed, and hooking up.
The Boston Globe reports:
He and Hernandez smoked a lot of marijuana–before school, before practices, and after games. It would become the beginning of Hernandez’s lifelong relationship with getting high, even before big games.
Dennis SanSoucie recalled the first day of junior year walking with Hernandez near the high school.
“We were baked,” said SanSoucie, who later joined the Marines.
The sex is something SanSoucie, who came out as gay in his late 20s, has never told anyone about. Until now.
Related: Aaron Hernandez bisexual rumors rekindled by new book about the convicted killer
“Me and him were very much into trying to hide what we were doing,” he explains. “We didn’t want people to know.”
SanSoucie said he and Hernandez worked hard to keep their relationship a secret. In their traditional community of Bristol, where Dennis was bound for the military and Aaron for big-time football, it was not something they wanted people to know about.
Asked how he thinks Hernandez would feel about him talking about their relationship today, SanSoucie says he believes he would be OK with it.
“I really truly feel in my heart I got the thumbs-up from him,” he says.
Meanwhile, Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, has repeatedly denied he was gay or bisexual. In August, she put out a statement that read, in part:
There has been much speculation about Aaron’s sexuality since his death. I can say this: Aaron was very much a man to me. I saw no indication that he was gay or homosexual. I wish I had known how he felt, just so we could have talked about it. I wouldn’t have disowned him. I would have been supportive. I can’t fault him if he was feeling that way. When you love someone so much you just want to be there to support them. The fact that he felt he couldn’t come out to me or he couldn’t tell me these things hurts, because we had that bond. I’ve accepted that he may have been the way he was said to be, or that it may not be true. Regardless, I won’t know.
Related: Aaron Hernandez’s lawyer claims he “clearly was gay” in shocking TV special
Vince
Sad but I kind of understand it with comments like that from his girlfriend. She basically said he was too much of a man to be gay. Plus, the football and marine culture not exactly the most accepting.
Polaro
She did not actually say that.
Donston
She did initially emphasize how much of a “man” he was when asked if he was gay.
Vince
Yes thank you Donston. Yep. I think what she was thinking.. i never once saw Arron talk with a lisp or moved his hand with a limp wrist.
DakotaDuke
A lisp? A limp wrist? Really? You watch too much RuPaul. Thought everyone suspected him because he didn’t have shitty hash marks in his drawers like all hetero guys do. See where we’re hiking here.
Macraymusic
Too bad for her that being gay clearly denotes “a limp wrist?”? Not sure a hetero can even follow that 1970’s characterization of a gay person
Ashke113
FYI Vince – not all of us talk with a lisp or have a limp wrist so stop describing yourself please. On a side note WTF is gay or homosexual does the wife think there is a distinction? Well there is but only we know that and the straight people don’t need that information their heads will explode with the overshare on top of all the goddamn labels and bullshit we come up with to describe all the sub-groups in our group—I forgot where I was going with this so I’ll just say Hi ??? lol
Greg
She says he was very much a man to me, meaning that in bed he did disappoint. He could get it up with her. Then she says she saw no indication that he was gay or homosexual (they’re the same thing). But that could have been anything. She could have caught him looking at guys. He could have been really close to a buddy. She could have found a guy’s number. She found out he was looking at gay porn. It wouldn’t have been a limp wrist or a lisp. That’s totally a stereotype.
EZinHTown
Thank you Greg! That was the best reply. Sometimes, it seems people have to find something to be insulted or offended by.
Kangol
Aaron Hernandez’s story is tragic in so many ways. Other articles point out how homophobic Hernandez’s father was, how he monitored his son’s behavior to stamp out effeminacy and detested the fact that Aaron wanted to be a cheerleader, how Hernandez was sexually abused as a child, and more. Also, we know he had severe CTE, and I can’t help but think that, though it doesn’t excuse his murder of Odin Lloyd, the brain damage probably played a role in his erratic behavior as an adult.
His fiancee’s statement is nuanced. She clearly says, “I wish I had known how he felt, just so we could have talked about it. I wouldn’t have disowned him. I would have been supportive. I can’t fault him if he was feeling that way.” That is not the comment of someone who’s rejecting a loved one, but someone stating a desire to understand and provide love, no matter what.
startenout
Thank you! I’m tired of the Queerty articles using this quote over and over (did she not say anything else??) and saying she completely denies he was homosexual or bisexual. She’s clearly saying she didn’t know, but it’s possible and she wishes he felt comfortable enough to talk with her about it. I don’t know what the end goal is in painting her as intolerant, but at least look for a sound byte that backs you up!
Xzamilloh
The man’s dead… all people can do is speculate and it’s insulting to the family of the people his actions affected to try and make him some troubled closeted youth. The man was given a raw deal in life, as were a lot of us who are gay and live in ultra religious homophobic communities, but I kinda lose sympathy for you when you go killing people.
Xzamilloh
What I meant to was to whittle his actions down to it being the result of him being a troubled closeted youth. We all deal with what happens to us differently, but cold blooded murder’s a deal breaker for me, especially someone who has the propensity to commit multiple offenses. Nah, I’m not losing any sleep over this one.
Donston
I’m certainly not making excuses for murder. And I don’t see this as much about being closeted and whether he was straight, hetero, gay, homo, bi, pan-sexual, fluid, bi-curious, whatever. (Besides, I’m one of those people who believe “gay” is more about romantic fulfillment and relationship contentment than about sex. So, we’ll never know if he was “gay”). I see it as a precautionary tale of how important it is to healthy grow from past trauma, to not falsify yourself for other people and to not allow yourself to be dominated by ego or sociology. Of course, most people’s lives don’t go this direction and they don’t end up killing people no matter who they are or what they’ve been through.
azjeff17
Only kinda? Hate to think what it would take for you to fully lose sympathy for someone.
Donston
The dude was just generally screwed up and had some unforgiving circumstances: sexually abused as a child, grew up in a very homophobic environment, put on a super macho facade to shield effeminate instincts (which even a lot of openly gay men do), developed extreme megalomaniac and narcissistic instincts, severe CTE during his football career, getting high all the time, creating a very manipulated public life and persona. Of course, there are people who go through many similar things and more and still don’t end up killing people. But this does create a fuller picture, albeit a fairly predictable one.
KevInSD
Other than his unfortunate bid to be a cheerleader, there is nothing in that article or otherwise to suggest that Hernandez was effeminate. The article only says that his crazy father was constantly ranting and raving about it, but that is not the same thing as evidence that he was. While it is true that the disease of effeminacy is more prevalent among gay boys than straight, it is also true that the solid majority of gay boys are not effeminate, even when assessed in very early childhood. You own your problem, sir.
Donston
You sound crazier than Aaron apparently was. This was a man that was partially suffocated by toxic masculinity, and yet you remain focused on protecting his masculinity and “proving” gay men can be macho, which no one gives a fvck about any longer. And there has been articles saying that Aaron did exhibit some stereotypical effeminate ways when he was a kid as well as of course being pushed into football as opposed to going into cheer-leading. Finally, I’m not effeminate, not even a lil bit. I’m just not an effemi-phobic nut-job like yourself. You probably couldn’t even “straight pass”. Now, own your problems and be a part of the solution not the conflict, sissy.
remyfacade
I don’t believe it. Aaron might have been Bi, but I don’t believe his teen lover. It should be illegal to come forward after a person has died. Even if there is proof.
Donston
This is one of the problems with the “bi movement” and with many of the men and women who claim to accept (or in some cases worship) bi-identifying or behaving men. You’re cool with seeing him as “bi”. But to actually think he preferred being with a guy, had real romantic love for a guy or actually had a couple of legit long-term same-sex relationships- that’s a problem, and you refuse to believe it.
I certainly wouldn’t say a peep about anything I did with someone who passed away. But these are some extreme circumstances considering the life Aaron lived and how his life ended. And there’s not enough here to say whether it’s the truth or not.
Vince
What evidence do you have that makes you believe he’s lying? He’s someone that obviously has had a relationship with Aaron in some way.
Would you prefer them to whitewash the truth like they did back in old days? Set them up with Beards and lived in their happy marriage of delusion. I’d prefer toe know the truth whatever that may be.
Donston
Also, unless the dude is just cray-cray, there’s no reason for him to come out with lies at this point. We know that he indeed went to school with Aaron and they were on the football team together. And this isn’t the first time his name has been brought up, though he said nothing in past.
JED08
The reason that we are talking about Aaron Hernandez is because we would like to know if he was in fact gay. If you don’t want to hear any discussion of that for whatever freaked out reasoning you have, then simply jump off the conversation. There’s evidence of numerous relationships with guys, but one with a girl. Aaron’s dad apparently thought that he was gay. Aaron also apparently really, really did not want people knowing about his same-sex interests, so pursuing a relationship with a woman for all to see makes perfect sense, it doesn’t mean that he was into women. I think that we are smart enough to figure this story without you telling us how it is. You and Aaron both seem to have some gay self-loathing going on. God forbid a guy should be gay, right? His high school friend is likely telling the truth. There are many pictures of them together. He’s free to talk about his life, it happened to him, so it’s not just the other persons story to tell.
Greg
Illegal? Why? What difference does it make? Make it illegal with jail time?
GayEGO
I understand why they were quiet about it. I also understand why some think being gay is being a sissy, but they are wrong, which is why Hernandez’s girl friend thinks that Aaron was too much of a man to be gay, and she is wrong.
Greg
She didn’t say she thought he was too much of a man to be gay. That doesn’t even make sense. She said he was very much a man to her.
draven
From the 1st time I ever saw him I was instantly attracted to him. For some reason. Now I know. May his soul Rest In Peace. He was a beautiful man. A beautiful soul. The straight ppl drove him crazy. I felt sorry for him. I could see his hurt in his eyes. Yes he had a charmed life either nfl and money and all that but it wasn’t everything. He loved his daughter very much. That showed. All I can say if your a gay man living on the downlow don’t let it destroy you. Money is not everything yes it pays the bills but don’t sell your soul. I always looked at his earlier pictures in the nfl. He was very happy. Cocaine is a very big problem in USA no one talks about it though. So many ppl do that drug young and old. I hate drugs and booze.
DakotaDuke
Accept that he was a masculine man that enjoyed sports, man sex, woman sex and unfortunately drugs that ultimately led him to make some very poor life choices. The drugs were his downfall, not what he did with his penis.
Ashke113
Can we leave him alone please, he’s been dead for how long yet Queerty continues to dig up senseless and pointless stories on him. No one cares whether he had a boyfriend or not nor what they did, so can we let the man rest in peace please. Try writing about something with more substance, amd for piss sakes I do not mean Colton Haynes either……
Kieran
Why shouldn’t we celebrate gay men in the NFL? You sound like it’s something besmirching his memory.
JED08
Speak for yourself please. This is a relevant and very interesting topic. We humans do talk about people after they die, hello.
frankcar1965
This is Queerty why should we leave it alone? It’s the gay National Enquirer for god’s sake.
rray63
Some of us like Colton. He has two good positives over Aaron. He’s alive and he’s out.
JED08
……..and most importantly, he hasn’t killed any people.
JED08
……..and most importantly, he hasn’t killed any people.
rray63
I won’t even comment beyond this on the stereotyping. It’s pathetic.
rray63
Oh, and Colton isn’t a murderer.
Paco
It has been reported elsewhere that he grew up in an environment of extreme toxic masculinity from his father. His father allegedly was extremely homophobic and monitored Aaron’s behaviors. He was also reported to be extremely angry when Aaron showed interest in being a cheerleader at one point in his life.
I can’t help but to wonder if he murdered to protect his “dirty” secret.
Greg
What dirty secret?
tham
He was so hot and so tragic…I’m surprised I didn’t date him.
Kieran
I want what Rosie O’Donnell and Chelsea Handler think about “Miss” Aaron Hernandez now?
Greg
What do they think?
Kieran
Well now that he’s gay, those two skank erstwhile “allies” Chelsea Handler and Kathy Griffin will probably start referring to “Senorita” Hernandez.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
I only hope his scumbag homophobic piece of thit “Father” is still alive and fully aware that his “Son” was most likely Gay….
ElPillo
Could he just have had sexy because he was high? We only know of one person, his football buddy with whom he got baked. Hay sex in jail? … isn’t that the norm when there is nothing else?
Greg
I don’t know. I’ve never been to jail. Nor do I plan to.
Donston
Actually, the initial rumors came to be because of the trial and the sense from multiple people’s testimony that Aaron and his male assistant had a thing going on, especially based off his assistant’s testimony. Also, Aaron’s college gf said he confessed to her that he was molested and was mostly into dudes. So, all of this didn’t come to be because of the “prison lover” talk.
I am exhausted by this story. I’m kinda hoping that this is it.
Donston
Also, Aaron’s lawyer said he suspected Aaron was gay. So, this clearly isn’t just about a high school teammate and a a supposed “prison lover”. Where Aaron fit on the romantic and sexual spectrum no one really knows, and it shouldn’t be the point. Gaining mental health and healthy instincts after childhood abuse, how oppressive and even dangerous hetero normal expectations and homophobia and internalized homophobia can be, and the importance of developing self-comfort are the things we should most take out of all this mess.
eeebee333
Jesus. Let the poor bastard rest in peace.
Aires the Ram
@eeebee333: Agreed. I believe the ‘elephant in the room’ is that there’s not many homosexual men who did not look at his incredible handsome-ness, his muscles, his beautiful man-ass, his big bulge in that football uniform, and think………”Daaammnnn…he’s F-I-N-E”. So of course, most of us do that, when we see an incredibly good looking masculine guy, we think ‘damn, I wonder if he’s on our side?” This is what drives this unending armchair speculation about Aaron Hernandez. The facts that we know are:
-he had a difficult childhood with a homophobic and possibly abusive father
-he warmed much more to males than he did to females
-he did drugs
-he ran with a gang
-he was from a bad environment
-he made it big
-he had brain damage as evidenced by autopsy reports
-he exhibited signs of instability
-he exhibited signs of internalized homophobia
-he was a murderer
-he never attended parties & get-togethers with his Patriots team-mates
This is a guy who had a lot going for him because of the NFL, but he, like all of us, come with our baggage from our past. He was a recipe for train wreck, and that train wreck ultimately happened. It’s a very sad story.